Threats of Lawsuits Won’t Silence Fact-Based Reporting

President Trump’s lawyers have threatened to sue the Center for American Progress (CAP) for defamation over a report that found National Guard deployments had no measurable effect on violent crime. The report, which drew from multiple analyses of citywide crime data, is just the latest target in Trump’s long history of using lawsuits to silence critics and intimidate opponents.

Trump’s lawyers claim that the CAP report contains “materially false statements” intended to damage the president. This argument essentially boils down to saying that the truth is whatever Trump says it is. It’s a classic tactic in his playbook: use the power of the presidency to intimidate and silence those who disagree with him.

This latest threat takes it to a new level, as Trump’s lawyers are seeking $5 billion in damages. The goal appears to be bullying CAP into retracting its report and apologizing for telling the truth. This is a transparent attempt to silence fact-based reporting and maintain the president’s grip on the narrative.

The good news is that CAP seems unlikely to back down. “This threatened lawsuit’s attack on facts and evidence is baseless,” said Neera Tanden, the think tank’s president and CEO. “A fundamental protection of the First Amendment is to allow for the publication of facts and analysis that are contrary to the arguments and claims of any administration.”

The Trump administration’s attacks on the media and independent research threaten the very foundation of a functioning democracy: the ability to disagree, debate, and express dissent. As Kevin Metz, an attorney for CAP, pointed out in his response to Trump’s lawyers, “Truth is not and cannot be defamation.” This principle underpins our system of government, and one that Trump’s team seems determined to undermine.

If Trump pursues this lawsuit, he’ll face a steep uphill climb. The official has to show that the defendant made the statement at issue with actual malice, which means they knew the statement was false, or they acted in reckless disregard of its falsity. It’s a high bar for Trump to clear, especially given the report’s reliance on multiple analyses of citywide crime data.

The threat itself sends a chilling message to journalists and researchers: speak truth to power at your own peril. And that’s a message that should alarm every American. In America, profound disagreements over public policy are resolved through robust public debate, not through threats or intimidation. Independent data, evidence, and analysis are essential to that debate, and efforts to silence independent research because its findings are unwelcome by an administration or president should alarm every American.

The real question is: what’s next? Will Trump continue to use lawsuits to target critics and opponents, or will he learn to respect the boundaries of free speech and fact-based reporting? One thing’s for sure: as long as Trump remains in power, we can expect more of these kinds of threats – and it’s up to us to stand up against them.